Forgive Me Father For I Have Sinned ::Completed!::
by Yume Nezumi
Summary: Can the others keep Duo from following Relena when she commits suicide? 2xR, 1x2, 3x4 rating for mature situations
1. Ch1: The Perfect Ring

A/N: Okay, This is an already completed story, but I'm only going to put it up a chapter at a time. I know the first chapter isn't that exciting, but trust me, it gets a lot better from here.

Guess I should include some warnings… don't wanna take you completely by surprise. ^_^

Uhm, let's see here… Suicide and attempted suicide, shonen/shoujo ai, unexpected pairings (at least I think so), angst (obviously, that usually comes with suicide ^_^;), uh… yeah, I think that'll do. ^_^

Well, have fun… and give comments, I wanna know what you think! If I hear something I really like, I might just go and change something further in the story!

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Chapter 1: The Perfect Ring

Duo stood in the jeweler's shop, staring at the diamond ring behind the glass case. _It's perfect_, he thought. _She'd love it_.

"Sir. . ." Duo didn't even realize at first that the man behind the counter was talking to him. "Sir, may I help you?"

Duo looked up. "Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. How much is this ring?"

"$524.99. It's on sale."

Duo raised his eyebrows and let out a whistle. That was a pretty good price for a ring like that, but. . . "Hmm. . . I might come back. Thanks." And he turned and walked out, leaving behind a very confused jeweler.

That night, he went to meet Relena at a fancy restaurant for dinner.

"So, Duo, what did you do today?" she asked sweetly.

"Uh. . .I. . .uhm…I just. . .you know. . .hung out." Duo shrugged, blushing slightly as he lowered his eyes. He never had been able to lie to her very well. When he looked up, he saw her staring at him. But of course he wasn't going to tell her that he had spent the entire day searching jewelry stores all over town for the perfect wedding ring. It was going to be a surprise. So what was he supposed to tell her?

"So, uh, what about you? What did you do?" he asked, trying to get the heat off himself.

She gave him a questioning look as she started talking about her day.

Duo sighed. Keeping this a secret for another week was going to be harder than he thought. He tried to think of a way to get past her questions, something he could say he was doing.

". . .Duo? Duo, are you okay?"

He looked up. He had been completely lost in thought.

"You've been acting kind of odd lately. Are you sure you're feeling well?" She leaned forward and placed a hand on his forehead, as if feeling for a fever.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry."

"You never tell me anything anymore. What's wrong?"

He looked up, surprised. "Huh?"

"You're so secretive lately. Is there something you want to talk about?" Honest concern showed on her face, but Duo just smiled in relief.

"I'm fine. Really. I've just had something on my mind lately."

"Well, what is it? Come on, you can tell me."

Duo smiled and shook his head. "It's. . . a secret."

Relena pouted. "Duo, please. I feel like I don't know you anymore."

Duo leaned forward and took Relena's small, delicate hands in his. "It's a surprise for you. For your birthday next week. Okay?"

She smiled, a sad smile, but a true one nonetheless. "Okay. I'll trust you."


	2. Ch2: Battered Faith

A/N: Okay, so I realized just how short these chapters are. So I'll give you two this time, just for a teaser. ^_~ 

Just a note for those who haven't read any of my other stories: I try to keep as close as possible to the characters' original personalities in most of these. So if someone is acting rather uncharacteristically, there's usually a reason, and if you look closely for details, you'll get a lot more enjoyment out of my stories. ^_~ Enjoy:

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Chapter 2: Battered Faith

The next day, Duo was on his way out the door when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Duo, hey!" Relena's voice came over the phone line. "What are you doing today? Do you want to go see a movie?"

"Uh. . . oh, I can't, I'm sorry. I already have plans," he said reluctantly.

"Oh. . . yeah. . . okay. . ." She didn't sound like she really believed him, but before he could explain it further, the line went dead.

"Dammit, Relena, don't you see I'm doing all this for you?" He replaced the phone in its cradle. "No, of course not, you're not supposed to know. If you knew, it would all be useless." He sighed, locked the front door, and set out to make arrangements for the most perfect birthday Relena had ever had.

While Duo was making plans and setting arrangements, Relena went to the house Trowa and Quatre shared. When she knocked on the door, Trowa answered.

"Relena?" He looked surprised — well, as much as was possible for a man whose face almost never showed emotion, unless you knew him very well.

"Can I talk to you? It's about Duo."

"Sure." He stepped aside, allowing her to enter. She followed him to the living room, where they took seats at opposite ends of the large couch. "What's the problem?"

"I. . . think Duo's cheating on me."

"Why do you think that?"

"Well, he's been acting really strange lately, and he's been avoiding me."

"Did you talk to him about it?"

"Yes, he never gives me a straight answer."

Trowa sat back. "Hmm. . ."

They both looked up as Quatre entered the room. "Relena?" He, too, looked surprised. As much as the group would have liked to, they didn't often visit each other, and almost never showed up on each other's doorsteps so spontaneously. Relena least of all of them.

"She thinks Duo's cheating on her," Trowa answered Quatre's unspoken question.

Quatre's eyes widened. "Why? What did he do?"

"He's just been acting oddly, avoiding me, and he never confides in me anymore like he used to. He never tells me what he's doing."

Quatre sat next to Relena and put an arm around her comfortingly. "I'm sure it's not as bad as you think."

"But, what if it is?" she asked, tears forming in her eyes.

Quatre hesitated, looking at Trowa for help. Trowa just shrugged. Neither one of them knew what to say to that. Duo, cheating on Relena? They were stumped.

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A/N: another warning: this is _not_, I repeat NOT a Relena-hating story. As shallow as she may seem at times, especially in this particular story so far, one must remember her sheltered, yet lonely upbringing. She, like the G-boys, was pretty much forced to grow up on her own, and very quickly. She seems so snotty in the beginning of the show only so that her maturity and development can be seen more clearly by the end. Unfortunately, most people can never look past their first impression of her. So, as I said, she may seem kind of shallow right now, but later her reasons for being so untrusting are explained.


	3. Ch3: Spiraling Down

A/N: I got a review! ^_^ *dances around* yay! Hehe okay anyway, I don't know if I'm gonna be able to have some regular interval for putting these chapters up. . . but whenever I can, I'll put one or two up, deal?

Anyway, here's Chapter 3. . . ^_^

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Chapter 3: Spiraling Downward

Duo got home the next evening and immediately sank down onto his couch. He was tired. He'd spent the entire day making plans and arrangements for Relena's birthday. He was going to take her to a theme park, because she'd told him once that she'd never been to one. Then he would take her to her favorite restaurant on the edge of town. That was where he would propose. He had even bought the ring that day, though not the diamond ring he had been looking at two days before. 

He had thought there wouldn't be much planning in such a simple day, but he had done everything from making sure her day was - and would stay - free, to making sure neither the park nor the restaurant would be closed that day for any reason. Usually he would just wing it, plan by the moment. That was how he worked best, spontaneously. But this time… this time, he wanted everything to be perfect. And now, with her birthday being the very next day, he was all prepared. He would tell her the next morning of his plans to spend the day together, that where they were going would be a surprise, and that he had an extra-special present for her that evening. If only he had told her that night.

Relena left Quatre's mansion less than satisfied. As much faith as Quatre and Trowa had in Duo, the situation did sound fishy, and as he hadn't told anyone, even them, of his plans for her birthday, they'd had nothing to say in his defense. All they could do was comfort her and tell her how trustworthy Duo usually was, how everyone could always depend on him, how he had never let anyone down, especially not her. Even so, Relena was crying when she left. They hadn't been able to keep her from working herself into a hysteria. The more she talked about it, the worse the situation became in her mind, until finally she was absolutely convinced that Duo was indeed cheating on her.

Trowa and Quatre stood at the doorway watching her leave, Trowa's arm around Quatre's shoulders. "I'm worried about her, Trowa."

"Me too."

"She seemed really depressed over him. You don't think he really…"

"It doesn't look good."

"What is he thinking?"

Trowa just shook his head. Quatre leaned up against Trowa's chest, watching Relena's car as it drove away into the night.

"There's nothing we can do tonight. We'll talk to them both in the morning."

"I hope we can talk some sense into one of them. Or both of them."

__

I hope we're not too late, Trowa thought. But he didn't say anything to Quatre. He didn't want to worry him over something neither of them could control.

So, with that thought on both their minds, they closed their door to the world… at least for the night.

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A/N: wow, another short chapter! I'm horrible at that. . . I either have no chapters at all, or rather short ones, as you can see here. . . Oh, well, maybe I'll just put up two chapters every time, how's that? So send in some feedback! ^_^


	4. Ch4: Death of Perfection

A/N: Okay, I know _all_ the chapters seem way short, but on the especially short ones, I'll give you two at a time. Will that suffice? ^_^;;

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Chapter 4: Death of Perfection

Relena arrived home to a mansion barren of anyone but servants, butlers and maids. She went straight to her room, ignoring the worried look from the doorman, and laid down on her bed, staring at the ceiling. "Duo…why…? I thought… I thought you loved me…" She sobbed and rolled over on her side, her eyes on the opposite wall. Everyone she had cared about…everyone she had loved. Her father, even though she found out he wasn't her real father… She was convinced Heero had never loved her in the first place, though she still held feelings for him. But Duo…

As clouds shifted and let moonlight into her window, something on Relena's desk caught her eye. A silver letter opener set on top of a stack of papers and mail that she had been planning on sorting through soon. It seemed like no one had ever cared about her as just Relena, instead of a Dorilan, or a Peacecraft, or the Queen of the World, or… whatever. They only cared about her place in life, not herself as an actual person. 

Before she even thought about it, she found herself standing at her desk. She saw her own hand reaching towards the stack of papers, saw her fingers closing around the letter opener, saw the metal gleam in the moonlight. She finally thought she had found someone. Duo never seemed to care about her money or status. He had really seemed to love her. But then why would he cheat on her? Oh, who was she kidding? He grew up poor on the streets, the thought of a little easy money for a change would be like free candy to him, whether he wanted it to be or not.

Next thing she knew, the serrated blade was at her wrist. She drew it across, drawing a thin red line. She switched hands and drew a matching one across her other arm. When she looked up, tears falling softly down her pale cheeks, she found herself looking in a small round mirror above her dresser. Her eyes were red and puffy. 

Her long, slender neck caught her attention next. Almost as if in a trance, she brought the blade up to her throat, finding a strange calming feeling from the red that ran down to stain first the pale hue of her skin, then the soft lavender of her ruffled blouse. She let her eyes drift down to her dresser top as she slowly sank to her knees. The last thing she saw before her eyes closed was a set of pictures in a double frame. The first was of the six of them: Trowa, Quatre, Heero and Wufei, with her and Duo in the middle. The second was one taken last Christmas at Duo's house: she and Duo were sitting on his couch, kissing, while Heero held a piece of mistletoe over their heads. Her hand reached out for the picture, and she fell to the floor, her blood slowly pooling around her.

The next morning, Duo knocked on Relena's door. A maid opened the door, smiled, and led him up to Relena's room. The maid knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Duo winked at her and pushed the door open softly and slipped in.

The sight that met his eyes was of Relena, laying in the middle of her floor on her side, in a large puddle of blood. In one loose fist was a silver letter opener, now stained heavily with blood. Her other hand was gripped tightly around a picture frame. When Duo moved slightly into the room, out of the doorway, he recognized one side of it as a picture taken at the Christmas party he had held last year. 

A high-pitched scream let him know that the maid had stepped into the room and seen Relena's still form. As the other servants of the mansion came rushing in, Duo slowly backed up against the wall, lips parted, eyes wide in shock. When the first maid turned to him, one hand covering her mouth, she saw two tears slowly trail their way down Duo's cheeks. Only two. That was all the God of Death would be allowed. Even to mourn his lover.


	5. Ch5: Duo's Mourning

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Chapter 5: Duo's Mourning

A few hours later, Duo sat on the couch in the foyer, silent and staring at the ground in shock. He raised his head as the other four came up to him, their faces sad and serious., then looked back at the ground. The two tears that had fallen earlier had left their wet trails on his cheeks, but not another tear had fallen.

"Duo. . . are you okay?" Quatre asked.

Duo looked up at them, but didn't answer. Quatre took a seat on Duo's left side, and Heero sat on his right, with Trowa kneeling in front of him, and Wufei standing a couple feet away, arms folded. His face was straight and serious, but his black eyes shined with a sad pity that had never before shown itself in his form. None of them really knew what to say. Nothing seemed appropriate. As tough as Duo was, and as many people as he had killed and seen dead in battle, this was a whole different story.

After a few minutes, a police officer walked up to them, looking almost too official in his starched uniform. "Is there a. . . Duo Maxwell here?" he asked, reading the name off a clipboard. Duo raised his head from where it rested in his hands. "Yeah?" he said softly.

"Sir, we'd like to talk to you for a moment."

Heero stood up quickly, surprising everyone. "You're not thinking this is his fault, are you?"

The cop stayed silent, glaring at Heero. "Please move, this does not concern you," he said sternly.

"You wanna bet?" Heero asked, crossing his arms and glaring back at the man.

"If you don't move, we will have to do so by force."

"You—" Heero started.

"Heero, it's fine."

He turned to see Duo standing, his fists clenched at his sides, his head raised level.

"But. . ."

"I didn't do it," he said softly. "They can't possibly have anything against me."

The police officer, whose nametag read 'Val Miggs,' was watching Duo curiously. "You don't seem very upset for a guy who just lost his girlfriend, kid."

Duo just scowled and stalked past him.

"You don't know Duo very well," Heero muttered. "He has his own way of mourning. And he can't let anyone see."

"Huh?" The man turned to Heero, but he had already started walking away.

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A/N: I know this one is extremely short, even for me, and this and the next one don't exactly have the best endings, but I'm doing the best I can to keep the chapters as close to the same length as possible. . . That's harder than it seems! Anyway, I promise it'll get better from here. ^_^


	6. Ch6: Truths Revealed

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Chapter 6: Truth Revealed

Quatre had already caught up with Duo. "Hey, Duo. . . listen. I think you should know this." He hesitated.

Duo turned around slowly. "Well, what is it?" he asked, his face grim.

"Relena. . . thought you were cheating on her."

"She what??"

"She only told us about it last night, and, well, it did seem kind of fishy, with you having all these secret plans, and we were going to talk to you about it today, but. . ." he said all this in one breath, then trailed off suddenly. He was almost fearful of the look of anger and pain on Duo's face. They all knew about how Duo masked his true emotions, but in a situation like this, there was no way he could hide his feelings.

"She. . . thought I. . ." Duo just shook his head.

"Duo?" Quatre asked cautiously. "What. . . what were you doing all those times?"

Still frowning, Duo pulled out a small black velvet box and handed it to Quatre. Inside the box was a gold ring with a beautiful amethyst gemstone in the center.

"Wow! Duo, is this. . . were you going to propose?"

He nodded. "I had the whole day planned out. I came today to tell her about the plans, and apologize for not being around lately."

Tears welled up in Quatre's eyes as he handed the box back. "Oh, Duo. . . I'm so sorry. We should have—"

"Who knew?" Duo asked coldly, cutting him off.

"Huh?"

"Who knew that she thought I was cheating on her?"

"Oh. . ." Quatre dropped his gaze to the floor.

"Everybody?" He nodded, wincing. "And you didn't try to convince her otherwise?!"

"Well, like I said, you didn't exactly give us proof, didn't tell us what you were up to. . ."

"You needed proof? It's me! You really think I would do that to her?!"

"Well, Heero did have faith in you. . ."

"He- he what?" Duo, who had been practically yelling, was stunned into silence by this comment. Heero? He hadn't even thought Heero cared.

"He always told us off about it, and said that you wouldn't possibly do something like that. . ."

"But. . . why? Why him?"

Quatre opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly changed his mind. "I don't know."

"I don't believe this. I thought we were friends. But I guess not. Hey, we only fought a war together, right? Nothing to bond over or anything." And with that, he headed out the front door of the mansion. Quatre ran after him, but Trowa stopped him at the doorway.

"Trowa, let me go!"

"We have no right."

"What do you mean, we have no right?"

"Would you want them coming after you, if I died and you knew they'd done nothing to stop it?" 

That stopped Quatre in his tracks. 

"The only person who Duo would listen to right now is possibly Heero."

"But Heero ran off!" Quatre cried, frustrated.

"Yeah. We need to go get him." Trowa said, standing. 


	7. Ch7: Shinigami's Judgement

A/N: You lucky thing, you get 3 chapters this time!. . . I have one warning for you. . . *MAJOR* cliffhanger! Aren't I evil? ^_^ Anyway, I'll be nice. . . I'll make sure not to wait too long before putting the next chapter up. ^_^

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Chapter 7: Shinigami's Judgement

Quatre ran off in the direction Heero had gone, with Trowa following close behind. Luckily, they caught up with him just as he was getting into the driver's seat of his car.

"Heero, wait!" Quatre called.

Heero looked up.

"Heero, please, you have to go talk to Duo." Quatre place his hands on the edge of the car door, leaning down to Heero's level.

"Why?"

"He. . . found out that Relena thought he was cheating on her."

"And that you knew?" Heero asked, straight-faced.

". . . Yes. That's why he ran off. I'm worried that he's going to do something. And. . . I don't want to make the same mistake twice. This time, I'm not waiting." The look on Quatre's face was one of surprising strength that he usually didn't have.

Heero watched him for a minute, then closed the car door. "Get in," he said as he unlocked the back doors. 

Quatre and Trowa climbed in, and Heero drove off towards Duo's house. As soon as he pulled into the driveway, he cut the engine and practically leapt out of the car, not bothering to retrieve the keys. He ran up to the house, with Trowa and Quatre close behind, and banged on the door. There was no answer. Heero tried the handle, but it was locked. He pulled out a paper clip and soon had the lock picked and the door wide open. 

The three of them entered the house cautiously.

"It's quiet," Trowa said.

"That's what worries me," Heero muttered, and raced inside to Duo's bedroom.

The three boys reached his room at about the same time, and Quatre spoke for all of them when they saw the sight before them.

"Oh, my god. . . Duo, no. . ."

The sight that greeted them was Duo curled up on his bed, blood streaming from a deep cut running the length of his forearm. . . in the shape of a cross. Even from the door they could tell he had been crying — much more than two tears. Behind him on the wall, scrawled in his own blood, was splayed one simple message:

Forgive me Father, For I have SINNED…


	8. Ch8: I'll Follow You Always

A/N: Wow. . . four reviews in two days. . . I feel extra special now. . . ^_^ Anyway, here, as promised, is the next chapter. I didn't leave you too long, did I? ^_^ Here you are, enjoy.

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Chapter 8: I'll Follow You Always

Heero rushed over to Duo's bedside. "Duo!"

Duo was curled up facing Heero. When he called his name, Duo's eyes opened ever so slightly, and the first thing he saw was Heero…crying.

"Hee. . . ro. . .?"

"Duo, why? Why would you do this? Did you want to follow Relena that badly?"

Duo didn't answer, but he was watching Heero carefully, his eyes still half-open.

"What about the other people that cared about you? You want to start a suicide chain?"

"Like who?" Duo whispered. "No one would follow me, I'm a nuisance, I know it. I only get in people's way."

"Duo, that's not true!" Heero exclaimed, frustrated.

"Name one person who cares enough about me to follow me," he said, closing his eyes.

Heero watched him for a minute, opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again. . . "Me."

This time Duo's eyes opened all the way. 

"If you killed yourself, I wouldn't be far behind."

"Heero. . ." He and Heero had once toyed with the idea of dating each other, even kissed on a dare, but they hadn't been serious about it. At least, Duo hadn't.

"You think you're the only one affected by Relena's death? Well, you're wrong. I loved her too, remember? But she and I could never be together. And I knew that. So when you two got together, I decided I wanted you both to be happy. So I helped you. Do you know how hard it is to watch the only two people you've ever loved be together, and know you could probably never have either of them?"

Duo was silent, staring at Heero in wonder. "Heero. . . why didn't you tell me?"

He shrugged and looked down. I didn't know what you'd think." 

At that moment, Trowa's re-entrance startled them. They hadn't even noticed him leaving. "I called an ambulance. They'll be here in a few minutes."

"Good," Heero said.

"Heero. . ." He turned to see Duo watching him. "Thank you."

"For what?"

He smiled. "For keeping the God of Death alive. I wasn't really sure if I'd go to the same place as her."

As the rising sound of the ambulances was heard outside, Duo looked up at his own message spread out on the wall before he passed out, a look of sad contentment on his face.

Heero smiled in understanding. Relena, despite her one sin of committing suicide, would probably still go to heaven. The God of Death was doomed to hell. No matter how he died.

Duo woke up in a soft bed, and was surprised to see that Heero had fallen asleep in a chair next to him. He looked around the room and confirmed that he was in a hospital room, then looked down to see his arm bandaged carefully, and an IV in his good arm. He looked up as Trowa and Quatre came in.

"Duo—" Quatre started, but Duo cut him off.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped on you like that. It wasn't your fault."

Quatre sighed. "I know we were wrong to doubt you. We should have asked you right when we found out. . ."

"And I should have told you guys, at least, about my plans. So let's just forget about it. Truce." He grinned and held out his hand, which Quatre gladly accepted. Trowa smiled, and Heero, peeking out from one half-closed lid, struggled to keep his face emotionless.

Duo smiled. "Heero, I know you're awake."

Heero opened his eyes. "Never could fool you, could I?" Duo smiled and shook his head.

Trowa laid one hand on Quatre's shoulder. "We're gonna go find some decent food, since I know you won't eat the stuff they have here."

Duo grinned. "You got that right. Hospital food? Yech. Smart boy."

The two waved goodbye and left, then Heero turned back to face Duo with an expectant look on his face.

"I've thought about what you said," Duo said slowly, answering his unasked question. "And. . . I think I'd like to give it a try."

"Are you sure you're ready to date someone else already?"

Duo shook his head. "No. But I might as well try, it'll keep my mind off of her. Besides, if I had to date someone else, I'd want it to be you anyway." He smiled at Heero, and the smile reached almost all the way to his eyes, which still shined with unshed tears.

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A/N: Wow, I actually wrote a semi-long chapter! Amazing, ne? ^_^ Well, I guess this one chapter will make up for getting three last time. . . don't worry, I won't wait too long before getting the rest of the story up. . . Only four more chapters! ^_^


	9. Intermission

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Intermission

I realized from reading a couple of recent reviews, which were almost downright vicious, that I should make a few. . . *ahem* "clarifications" on this story.

First of all, I was told that I "killed off Relena to get her out of the way so Heero could 'comfort' Duo." That is not true at all. In fact, in the original draft of the story, Heero didn't even like Duo 'in that way.' But I couldn't just let Duo die, I wanted him to get on with life. As I have previously stated, I am *not* a Relena-hater/basher/etc., and I would not simply use her as an excuse for Duo and Heero to hook up. I am a big fan of romance, and the best way I saw for Duo to realize that Relena was not the only one who cared for him, was for him to find that someone else had feelings for him. I'm sorry if that seems a bit shallow or 'unoriginal.'

As for Relena being strong enough to not kill herself over a man, I would generally tend to agree. But you have to also think about her bad luck with important men in her life. Her father turned out to not be her real father, her brother was an enemy, and Heero never seemed, to her, to really be there for her. Everyone has moments of weakness, unfortunately hers just came at a very bad time.

Another comment I got was about how fast Heero "just moves right in" on Duo after his failed attempt at suicide. Okay, first of all, it wasn't quite that simple. Heero didn't make Duo forget about Relena, as I said earlier here, he made him realize that other people cared about Duo, and that his life was actually worth something to them. And as Duo himself stated when Heero asked if he was ready to date someone else, "No. But I might as well try, it'll keep my mind off of her." He knows he can't dwell on her, it will only make him more depressed. So he struggles to move on with his life, without losing the memory of her.

As for Heero telling Relena he wouldn't be far behind her if she died in the Endless Waltz manga, I haven't read it, so that one is pure coincidence.

Well, I really hope this clears some things up for you. . . I am not one to shun constructive criticism, but I don't think anyone enjoys incriminating reviews. I've tried my best to explain here what seems to me must have been unclear, and I hope it did some good.

Also, I know a lot of people don't read the author's notes, and I'll admit most of mine are just jabbering anyway, but I make some important points in them at times, so please go back and read them. I did at one point try to explain exactly why I killed Relena, and it certainly wasn't for Heero's sake.


	10. Ch9: Gifts Arrive

A/N: Okay, back on track here. . . and thanks for all the support you guys, it really means a lot! ^_^ 

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Chapter 9: Gifts Arrive

Six months later, Duo and Heero, still happily together, were putting up Christmas decorations in the house they now shared. Around Duo's neck, sharing a chain with the cross he always wore, was the ring he had bought for Relena.

Now he stood on the end of the couch, hanging garland, while Heero decorated the tree with ornaments, tinsel and strings of popcorn. There was a little pile of gifts sitting on the red tree carpet. The pile would soon grow with the arrival of first Trowa and Quatre, then Wufei, and later even Hilde and Catherine showed up to share the Christmas joy. Soon the little stack of presents was spilling out from under the tree. Duo was in the kitchen getting drinks when Hilde came in to help him.

"Hey, Duo," she said, taking a glass from him and filling it up from a nearby tea jug.

Duo smiled at her. "Hey, Hilde. Haven't seen you in a while. What's been up?"

"Well, I heard about you and Heero getting together, congratulations."

"I guess that means you heard about Relena too, huh?" He smiled sadly.

Hilde paused uncertainly. "I had thought. . . you wouldn't want to talk about it."

"She's not coming back, I know that. Don't you think she'd rather us remember her happily, instead of treating her like some tragedy we're all ashamed of?"

"I guess so. . ." Hilde said uncertainly. But she then saw Duo smiling, and she was reassured. The smile reached all the way to his eyes. A true smile at last. She straightened up, smiled, and started to leave, but then. . . "Oh, I meant to tell you." She dropped her voice to a whisper. "We have a surprise for Wufei. Since he's the only one of us who's single —"

Duo raised his eyebrows. "You have a boyfriend? When did that happen?"

Hilde grinned nervously. "Well, not exactly a boyfriend…" her eyes strayed to where Catherine was sitting with Trowa and Quatre on the couch laughing and talking.

Duo laughed. "I get it. I guess we're all kinda messed up, huh?"

Hilde laughed and blushed slightly. "Yeah, anyway, Wufei needs somebody, don't you agree?"

Duo nodded, still laughing softly. "Yeah. . . but who?"

"Well, we'll have one other guest later, if you don't mind. . ."

"Okay, who is it. . .?" Duo asked, motioning with his hands.

Hilde took a deep breath and closed her eyes expectantly. "Sally Po."

There was a moment of silence, then Duo burst out laughing so hard he fell to the floor, tears coming to his eyes. He was rolling around on the ground when the others came running.

"Duo, what happened?" Heero called as he reached the kitchen. Duo waved his hand.

"Oh. . . oh. . . man. . . of. . . all. . . the people. . . it's. . . perfect. . .!" He was laughing so hard he could hardly speak. Hilde giggled at his response, but the others only looked more confused.

"Duo. . . what are you talking about?" Heero's eyebrows were knit together in confusion, but he was having trouble keeping a straight face at the sight of Duo rolling on the kitchen floor, tears of laughter streaming from his eyes as he giggled madly.

Hilde grinned and shook her head. "It's nothing. It's. . . something I told him. A joke."

Heero and the others looked skeptical, but they knew that Duo could find the slightest thing laughable, so they filed back into the living room, leaving Duo and Hilde alone in the kitchen once more.

**********

A/N: I'd just like to kind of give a shout out to a couple of people who gave reviews to this story. . . 

First of all Patty 40, who was the first to review Forgive Me Father, and has continued to come back for more. . . Of course I care about my reviews. ^_^ thank you so much, and I'm not mad at you. ^_^ --^--v--@

To. . . "Interesting idea". . . yeah. . . you know who you are. . . heh. Anyway, that's actually a good idea. I've never written a fic centered around Relena, but I just might do that later. ^_^ thanks for the idea!

Shaeric Draconis: you've reviewed one of my other stories, haven't you? I've got a returning fan!! ^_^ *dances around with Shaeric* heh okay, I'm done now. . . thanks a lot, I hope you enjoy my other stories as much as you did this and Missing You! ^_^ --^--v--@

And as for you, lain. . . heh. . . you weirdo. ^_^ and yes, I know it's you. . . you and your weird names. . . whatever. Thanks! --^--v--@


	11. Ch10: Picture Memories

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Chapter 10: Picture Memories

Duo had finally stopped laughing, and now lay spread-eagled on the kitchen floor, smiling and still slightly out of breath.

Hilde smirked. "So I take it you agree with the plan, then?"

Duo giggled. "Oh, yeah. It's great. It's perfect. I love it. When's she coming?"

"She should be here in a few hours."

"Great." Duo grinned and jumped up, dusting himself off. "Let's go do presents!" And he led the way into the living room.

"Merry Christmas!" Duo called as he entered the room. Everyone looked towards him as if expecting a speech or toast. "Now let's open gifts." They laughed as Duo pulled on a big fluffy Santa hat and picked up the first present.

"To Heero, from Hilde," he read off the tag, then handed the small, neatly wrapped gift to Heero, who sat on the floor at the end of the couch. Heero ripped off the festive paper decorated with little reindeer to reveal a container of new floppy disks.

Hilde shrugged. "You mentioned you needed some."

Heero nodded. "Yeah, I did. Thanks." He inspected the box as Duo picked up the next gift, then set it aside for later. 

The next package was long and slender. "To Wufei, from Cathy." Duo handed it to him. When he pulled the paper off, it was only to see a plain, velvety black box. He pulled the top open, and his mouth actually dropped open slightly in surprise. 

"Well, what is it, Wufei?" Duo asked. Wufei held the box up at an angle for everyone to see. Inside, laying in an indent in its exact shape, was a long, silver-bladed dagger. The blade was so clean and pure it reflected the smallest bits of light, and a black, serpent-like dragon twisted itself around the handle, its head at the very top. Its eyes glittered with dark red rubies.

Cathy grinned slightly. "Yeah, I thought you might like it."

"Wow. . . thanks. . ." Wufei breathed, still looking at the knife, uncharacteristically stunned.

Duo continued to hand out the presents. Quatre got a gold bracelet from Trowa, who received a new half-clown mask from Cathy. Duo had sat on his old one a few months before, and it had broken in half. Everyone got something from everybody, and finally there were no more gifts under the tree. Duo was about to stand up when Hilde held out her hand. "Wait."

He looked up. "Huh? What, did I miss one?" He looked back under the tree, but there was nothing there but fallen tinsel.

"No, not there." She picked up her bag and pulled out another small gift. It was about the size of a book, only much thinner. She handed the present to Duo, who accepted it in surprise. He read the tag aloud.

"'To Duo, from. . . all of us'?" He looked up to see triumphant smiles on all of their faces. He tore open the paper and gasped at what now lay in his lap. It was a double picture frame, closed, but he knew immediately what it held. He opened it anyway. Two pictures lay under renewed glass in the frame. On the left, a group picture of the five boys and Relena. On the right, a picture of the two of them at the same time the previous year, kissing under a piece of mistletoe barely visible being held by Heero. The frame had been cleaned off of all the blood, and the broken and blood-smeared glass had been replaced. He looked up at the group still watching him, his eyes showing the smallest trace of a tear. He smiled. "Thanks, guys. I love it."

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A/N: Two more chapters, then the story is done! Wow, I feel so special. . . ^_^ keep up the feedback guys, I'm lovin' it! ^_^ *continues to gloat and boast for the next three hours. . .*


	12. Ch11: Wufei's Gift

A/N: Wow, this chapter took longer than I thought! Sorry for the wait. . . I've got some major catching up to do in my AP English class, on top of my article in my newspaper class, not to mention my AP history and College Algebra classes. 0.0 Talk about piling on the work! Well anyway, as if that isn't enough trouble, my computer is acting up, and we're going to have to reload everything on it. ~_~ I _really_ hate computers some times. . . but, I am trying my best, so enjoy! ^_^

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Chapter 11: Wufei's Gift

Everyone was enjoying Christmas cake and drinks when the doorbell rang. Heero, Quatre, Wufei and Trowa all looked curiously confused, but Duo grinned mischievously, and Hilde and Cathy both had trouble keeping straight faces as they went to open the door. Sally Po stood on the doorstep, looking like she would rather be almost anywhere else. Cathy led her into the room and sat her on the end of the couch closest to Wufei.

"Sally?" Quatre asked curiously. "I didn't know you would be here."

Hilde grinned. "You weren't supposed to. She is here with one last Christmas present. Wufei, stand up, please," she said sweetly. He scowled, but did as he was asked. He did, however, protest when Cathy then tied a handkerchief around his eyes.

"Oh, calm down. It's not like we're gonna strip you and use you for entertainment."

Duo snickered. "Although that would be pretty funny to see."

It took Hilde, Cathy, and Trowa to keep Wufei from blindly attacking Duo, who sat far out of his reach, giggling madly.

"Duo," Hilde huffed reprovingly. "Don't. . . taunt. . . him, we're. . . serious. . . here. . ."

"Okay. . . okay. . . I'm sorry. . . I'll stop. . . I promise." He wiped his eyes and held back more giggles as they finally managed to calm Wufei down.

"Okay, Wufei. It's okay." Hilde and Trowa stayed on either side of him, while Cathy stepped towards Sally. "Okay, Sally, give him his gift."

Sally stood up, smiling nervously, and made her way slowly over until she was standing a foot away from the blinded Chinese. She leaned forward and surprised everyone except the girls by planting a big kiss right on his lips. Wufei jerked back so hard that he fell backwards, and brought Trowa down with him. He ripped off the blindfold and glared heatedly up at Sally, who grinned. "Merry Christmas, Wufei."

"What. . . the hell was that for?" he demanded, the blood filling his cheeks making his glare seem much less deadly.

"Do you want a girlfriend?"

What?!"

"Your present," Hilde interjected, "is a date with Sally."

Wufei raised an eyebrow. "What if I refuse?"

"Even you aren't that much of a stickler," Duo said, grinning. "At least, I didn't think so."

"Watch it, braid boy. Don't push your luck." He glared at the smiling Duo, who merely shrugged.

"Am I right?"

Wufei glared for a moment, then dropped his gaze. "I'll do it," he mumbled.

Sally and Cathy sighed in relief, and Hilde laughed and clapped her hands.

"Oh, yay! I hoped he'd agree!"

Wufei simply scowled more and sat up against the couch. Sally sat right behind him, much to his annoyance, and Trowa moved back over to the second couch where he and Quatre had been before. He sank back down, his arm around Quatre's shoulders.


	13. Ch12: Happiness At Last

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Chapter 12: Happiness At Last

The eight friends stayed up all night talking, laughing, and sharing gifts and food. They watched, laughing, as Wufei chased Duo around the house, pieces of Duo's slice of cake still sliding off Wufei's hair. Cathy and Hilde were caught under a bough of mistletoe, again held by Heero, and gladly shared a Christmas kiss for the camera. Heero was then dubbed the Kissing Elf, and Duo spent the next ten minutes trying to catch him and "initiate" his Christmas title. It ended when Duo finally tackled Heero against the stairs banister.

Duo still did think of Relena at times, and there were times when Heero would wake up in the middle of the night and turn to Duo, to see two thin, wet trails marking their way down his cheeks. But thanks to Heero, Hilde, Cathy, and the rest of the gang, he has been overall happier than he had ever been before.

Wufei finally let his pride down just enough to admit that he at least enjoyed Sally's company, and they've been happily on-again-off-again ever since. She's still working on his temper control. The dagger he received from Cathy now hangs on the wall in his room, still in its case. He prizes it above all his others, especially since it came from a professional knife-thrower.

Trowa has finally gotten over his initial surprise of finding that Cathy and Hilde had already been dating for four months when he found out that Christmas night. To Cathy's disappointment, he has quit the circus, though he still helps out when the troupe's in town. He now stays with Quatre in his mansion, where a guest room is always open and waiting for when Cathy and Hilde stop by. Hilde is helping backstage at the circus to stay near Cathy.

The double-framed pictures that had previously belonged to Relena were placed on Duo's dresser. They have since been joined by many other pictures, including the one of Hilde and Cathy. But Relena's pictures still hold a special place among the rest.

To this day, Duo has a cross-shaped scar on his left arm. But instead of thinking sadly of Relena's death, whenever he sees it he uses it as a reminder that finally, after all the years he had waited in his youth, he is now surrounded by people who love and care about him. They don't intend on dying any time soon, and he doesn't intend on ever giving any of them a reason for wanting to.

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A/N: That's it, it's done! As short as this story is, it's my longest ever finished story, and I'm very proud of it. I love the feedback I've gotten, and I enjoyed every bit of this. Of course, I have about a billion other stories roaming around in my head, so maybe now I can pay a little attention to those. Of course, I will go back and work on my other stories too. . . eventually. . . ^_^;; I am terrible at that, but I really am trying. I promise. ^_^; Thanks again, and I hope you enjoyed the story!


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